'No, I shouldn't,' said Alice, surprised into contradicting her
at last: 'a hill CAN'T be a valley, you know. That would be
nonsense--'

The Red Queen shook her head, 'You may call it "nonsense" if
you like,' she said, 'but I'VE heard nonsense, compared with
which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!'

Alice curtseyed again, as she was afraid from the Queen's tone
that she was a LITTLE offended: and they walked on in silence
till they got to the top of the little hill.

For some minutes Alice stood without speaking, looking out in
all directions over the country--and a most curious country it
was. There were a number of tiny little brooks running straight
across it from side to side, and the ground between was divided
up into squares by a number of little green hedges, that reached
from brook to brook.

'I declare it's marked out just like a large chessboard!' Alice
said at last. 'There ought to be some men moving about somewhere
--and so there are!' She added in a tone of delight, and her
heart began to beat quick with excitement as she went on. 'It's
a great huge game of chess that's being played--all over the
world--if this IS the world at all, you know. Oh, what fun it
is! How I WISH I was one of them! I wouldn't mind being a Pawn,
if only I might join--though of course I should LIKE to be a
Queen, best.'

She glanced rather shyly at the real Queen as she said this,